Ryan Tim Morris's Blog, page 7
January 13, 2015
GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE [2014], by Andrew Smith
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 7/10 Wow. I’m not sure exactly what it was I just read there, but Grasshopper Jungle is nothing if not original. Let me pose the following question to you: If the world was coming to an end due to 6-foot tall mantises hatching from the bodies of a bunch Iowans, would […]
CHRONIC CITY [2009], by Jonathan Lethem
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 9/10 Though I’m totally aware that this is not a “perfect” book, or even a must-read that can be easily recommended, this is certainly one of my favorite novels. I’ve read it twice now in the last year and a half and I’ll admit that I enjoyed it more the second […]
November 14, 2014
THE EMPEROR OF PARIS, by C.S. Richardson [2012]
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 4/10 Just couldn’t get into this one. From the reviews I’d read, it sounded like The Emperor of Paris was a slow start for most, but if hung on to long enough would pay off. Not for me. Too many characters within a jumbled chronology made for a terribly hard read, […]
November 12, 2014
COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI and HIS YEARS of PILGRIMAGE, by Haruki Murakami [2014]
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 9/10 Some say Haruki Murakami is a one-trick pony, and I cannot completely disagree. Though with his latest novel – Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage – I can confidently say that his “trick” is getting better and better. Colorless Tsukuru reads a lot like Norwegian Wood, which holds […]
October 27, 2014
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan [2012]
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 7/10 A blistering start, followed by an perplexing mystery and surrounded by gaggle of interesting characters, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a worthwhile novel that met a lot of my common criteria when finding a new book to read: 1) I’d not heard of the author before; nothing better than discovering […]
September 2, 2014
TO RISE AGAIN AT A DECENT HOUR, by Joshua Ferris [2014]
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 6/10 Joshua Ferris continues to impress me with his writing, though To Rise Again at a Decent Hour would be my least favorite of his first three novels. I fell in love with Paul O’Rourke, the regretful, misanthropic, sardonic New York dentist, but, although very funny, the novel slides a little […]
July 20, 2014
MIRAGE, by David J. Eden [2013]
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 4/10 First of all, MIRAGE definitely does not fit into my preferred genre of reading. Fantasy just never really grabs my attention. I will say that MIRAGE has an extremely interesting concept but falls short on many levels. The fact that it’s a work of fantasy cannot be counted against it […]
June 13, 2014
WHAT’S IMPORTANT IS FEELING, by Adam Wilson [2014]
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 6/10 Of the twelve short stories contained within these pages, I can say that I really only enjoyed five of them. And the five favorites fell within the first six stories, so as you can imagine it was a pretty slow go through the last half of the book. If I […]
June 11, 2014
Cody
For some reason lately, maybe it’s the planetary alignment or because people just want to talk to me, I’ve had a few queries about the dedication in my first novel, Molt. Inquiring minds have wondered of its origins, the who’s and the why’s. In Memory of Cody. And if you’re now wondering too, here’s the […]
May 15, 2014
DAREDEVIL by MARK WAID, Volume 5 [2013]
R. Tim Morris’ Rating: 8/10 WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! There’s nothing much better than getting a collected volume of any series and seeing the same writer and artist for EVERY issue. Even better when it’s Daredevil by Mark Waid & Chris Samnee. I know, I know…it’s true that I raved and bragged and basically wouldn’t shut […]
